After much deliberation, I still decided to resign.

Early this morning, my friend C sent me a message saying, "I've decided to quit after all". To be honest, I was quite surprised, after all, it was the company he had been looking for, and during the epidemic, I was afraid it wouldn't be too easy to find a job.

At the beginning of his third year with this well-known company, I wonder if it was the so-called 'three-year itch', he started to talk to me frequently about his confused career plans.

Overtime was a daily occurrence and he was being 'dragged along' every day, constantly dealing with a new workload but with low-level repetitive work content.

With the prospect of turning 30, C really to find a new borough. But with his work situation in front of him, he couldn't afford to stop and think.

So, after struggling for a little over half a year, he chose a point in time when everyone advised him not to quit his job rashly and handed in his letter.

After talking to C for a long time, I have some insights and solutions that I would like to share with you.

01 A different kind of 'in-system'

I joined Deloitte right after I graduated and worked for two foreign companies for six years before I started my own business.

More than ten years ago, joining a foreign company was the ideal job (dream offer) in the minds of many of my peers at that time. It was just like many young people today who, after graduation, are eager to work in the big BAT companies.

I have to say that back then, foreign companies showed a higher level of professionalism in terms of talent development, staff welfare, and overall management structure.

However, young people who grow up in foreign companies tend to be "tightly coupled" with the company, and the longer they stay, the stronger the coupling becomes. Once they leave the aura of a foreign company, they often feel powerless for a long time.

A little tip: coupling is a measure of the degree of interconnectedness between modules.

It was many years later that I realized one thing -

The stability of a foreign company is another kind of 'in-system', just like that of a state-owned enterprise. It does have a well-established mode of operation and management system, but over time, it can also get tied up in these things and lose its impetus.

After I was integrated, it seemed that things were done in a step-by-step manner without any particular innovation or push. Even innovation can create 'rejection' in an already stable team and process.

It was also around the age of 27 or 28 that I first had a sense of crisis in the workplace - that

Where will my core competencies be in three, five, or even ten years? Could I swim like a fish in an aquarium tank in the ocean?

After some serious thinking, I decided to take a look at the outside world.

After that, I started my entrepreneurial journey and for the first time, I experienced the excitement and fun of interdimensionality. When I saw my idea slowly grow into a prototype in my hands and then polished into a product that was put into the market and accepted and liked by more and more users, the sense of achievement and happiness inside me was incomparable.

02 Change, never-ending

I don't know if you feel that many people are thinking about changing jobs after the New Year.

I had dinner with my old friend S the other day and she said she was ready to go back to a traditional foreign company. Five years ago, she was poached by a well-known foreign company to work as an executive in an internet e-commerce company, and in her own words, she was living in hell.

The core problem is still that there is only work and no life. The morning meeting started at eight in the morning, the end-of-day summary at seven in the evening, and the work plan was written by the hour every day, and the whole person was like a wind-up. Of course, as a fast-growing Internet company, 996 is the basic configuration.

I shared with her some of my views on the general environment. During this decade, China has entered the forefront of global competition.

Many of the leading private companies and Internet giants of today have grown a management system that is more in line with the national conditions, more grounded and more efficient than foreign investors, after groping around; on the other hand, the past tilt in resources and policies towards foreign investors has long been amended.

At the same time, the industrial structure is also undergoing radical changes. The 'newer and faster' domestic internet companies are constantly changing the competitive landscape of the industry, and even more so our lives.

I thought that the aura of foreign companies had fallen. Why would you want to go back to the 'system'?

S said, as you said, there are industries where it is true that foreign companies are no longer shining, such as the automotive industry which has been laying off employees in 2019.

However, in some high-growth sectors, foreign companies still maintain strong growth over double digits for several years, thanks to their first-mover advantage and strong organizational capabilities.

And these are the companies that are more attractive in terms of 'work-life balance for their employees.

She sounds like she has done her homework, but is also well aware that it is all 'siege' and still struggles with it.

03 Growing up, responding to change with change

S's story, and C's story, have something in common.

They both went to fast-growing, high-profile companies, and both chose to leave because they were 'too busy to find themselves.

If you are reading this tweet and are similarly confused, I have a few tips for you to consider.

1. Some bottom lines are supported by money

The first piece of advice I give is, naturally, financial.

As the saying goes, before the troops move, the food comes first. Whether you've considered changing jobs or not, it pays to be financially prepared first.

Especially during the recent epidemic, some of you who happened to quit your job just before the year to change ran into an awkward period when all the houses were hiring shrinkage. As a result of their lack of financial preparedness, their lives became very passive and their job search mentality was affected. It went from a good change of scenery to a job that would be nice, defeating the original intention.

Simply put, two preparations. Save enough money for 3 months of basic expenses and buy an insurance policy that can cover major risks. If you do these two things well, you will feel much more secure.

2. Be rational and face up to your inner anxieties

If you have a lot of doubts about what you are doing now, face up to your inner anxieties and concerns and be wary of the ostrich mentality.

Try to think of yourself as a spectator and make a more calm and rational analysis instead of dwelling on painful emotions.

For example, check out some industry data and do some industry-related research to gain a more macro perspective, like S did.

Or do some concrete attempts in addition to your daily work, as well as chat more with experienced friends to gain some practical perceptions.

Just like I did seven years ago, I first used my spare time to write a public website before officially quitting my job six months later to devote myself wholeheartedly to "Jane 7 Reads Finance".

These analyses and actions may enable you to look at the job at hand more objectively or to get closer to the next job of your choice.

3. Deliberately shape and regularly take stock of your workplace competencies

The external environment is always changing, so it's important to keep a firm grip on your fundamentals.

From time to time, you should look beyond your current job and ask yourself, "Are my achievements due to the platform or my strengths? What skills or abilities are there now that can be directly 'migrated' if I change tracks?

It is more reassuring to have the ability to 'not be afraid of losing your job than a well-paying job.

Keep putting in the effort in the right direction, and don't just look at the short-term rewards, these inputs will eventually leave their mark on you.

When I first started my business, I was asked, "Didn't all your previous hard work go to waste? Audit experience, tax knowledge, painful CPA/CTA preparation... "

But in fact, now I am still grateful for the tax/financial knowledge and good working habits I learned at Deloitte. These are the skills that will always follow you.

4. Keep yourself in a perpetual state of growth

If you feel tied down by the system, try to poke around with courage. You can poke a few more holes, or even go over a wall. Every little breakthrough, I believe, will allow you to grow.

I certainly don't encourage people to switch tracks blindly, but if you decide to take a different path, you still need to weigh and analyze what are your strengths in doing this. Are you prepared to stick with it for at least three years?

Finally, I would like to share a quote that I like. Every time I read it, I feel it more deeply.

"Freedom is the degree to which you are comfortable with uncertainty. The degree to which you can accept the anxiety that uncertainty brings you, the more freedom you are likely to have."